Sunday 28 June 2009 19.05 EDT
First published on Sunday 28 June 2009 19.05 EDT

Shaun Edwards, the Lions defence coach, says South Africa's flanker Schalk Burger should have been sent off for eye gouging in the brutal second Test defeat at Loftus Versfeld. In the event he was cited and, after a disciplinary hearing in Pretoria last night, banned for eight weeks while his fellow forward Bakkies Botha was banned for two for a dangerous charge on Adam Jones.

Both miss Saturday's third Test in Johannesburg and Burger the first three Tests of the Tri-Nations. The Lions, whose agonising 28-25 defeat has given the Springboks the series, will be without both first-choice props, Jones and Gethin Jenkins, for what is now a "dead rubber".

Edwards was incensed that Burger stayed on the field after an incident in the first minute in which he gouged the young Irish wing Luke Fitzgerald in front of the touch judge Bryce Lawrence. In his Guardian column Edwards says: "When Bryce Lawrence saw Schalk Burger's fingers in Luke Fitzgerald's eyes he should have recommended something stronger than 'at least a yellow card'. In the heat of a Test match with fans bellowing, if Lawrence meant red, he should have said red."

Edwards says the Lions dressing-room was like a casualty ward with Jenkins suffering a fractured cheekbone and his fellow Welshman Jones a dislocated shoulder.

"We did not enjoy the rub of the green," the Lions' normally diplomatic head coach, Ian McGeechan, said. "I have not felt as low as this after a rugby match for a long, long time."

McGeechan will consider his future after returning home and he has not ruled out taking charge of the Lions for a fifth time when they visit Australia in 2013. He will be without a job after the end of the tour, having stood down as Wasps' director of rugby, and is considering an offer to get involved in coaching at Super 14 level in South Africa next year. The 62-year-old said: "The only plan I have, apart from taking a few months out, is to consider an offer to come back out here next year and have a coaching involvement in Super 14 rugby. It would be a different experience for me and allow me to see the sport from a different angle. As for the Lions, I love everything they represent and on this tour, despite a very narrow defeat in the series, the players have done the jersey proud."

Two members of the 1995 World Cup winning Springbok squad, meanwhile, have been admitted to hospital. Ruben Kruger, who recently had a third brain tumour removed, lost conciousness while driving home from the Test and was involved in a minor road accident. He was rushed to a nearby Pretoria hospital for observation. Further reports emerged last night that 38-year-old Joost van der Westhuizen had also been admitted to hospital and may have suffered a heart attack.